More on capacity: never stop growing
Hello My Money Timers,
Last month I finished Booker T. Washington’s autobiography: Up from Slavery. Discovering how one man was able to go from slavery to meeting with the president of the United States blew me away. It made me think: if one man can grow from so little, then surely I can steward what God has given me.
Although most people alive today will never face slavery, they will encounter bondages of some kind (debt, inflation, limiting mindsets). Washington’s story reminds me: anything is possible.
The Parable of the Talents
In Matthew, Jesus tells one of His most famous parables. In the story, a master goes on a long journey and leaves his servants in charge of his property. Each one is given a small sum of money and expected to increase it before his return. Interestingly, every steward but one grows their investment. When the master returns, he is outraged when one worker confesses that he hid his money. While the other faithful servants receive a promotion, this fearful employee gets condemned to torture.
This story makes me think, God, like the master, must want us to grow what He gives us.
Capacity: never stop growing
One aspect of capacity is the ability to continually grow. It’s not about reaching a certain point and retiring. It means improving your skills every day.
I saw this highlighted in an email I received from a big time Hollywood writer/producer. I’ll share an excerpt here:
I was talking to a writer the other day at the Westide Writers Meetup and for whatever reason, some numbers came up and he said, “Oh, I’m not good at math.” That really irked me because it’s a pet peeve of mine when people say, “I’m not good at _______.” It’s demonstrating a fixed mindset instead of a growth mindset… and the question I always think in response is, “Well, do you want to get good at it? Would it help your health/career/relationships if you worked on it?’”
This quote provokes me: are there some areas in my life that I need to improve? I’m in my early sixties. That’s not the prime age for a social media influencer. In fact, I mostly despise social media. But to steward the online business God has given me, I’m working hard on growing my online skills, including doing IG lives every Wednesday around 3 PM to promote my live coaching sessions.
Point is, if you have a gift, grow it. Don’t be like so many people who have great ideas but refuse to activate them. Even if you scale your talent in a small way, that’s a victory. So, think about what unique gifts, ideas, and perspectives God has given you. Then ask Him what you can do to grow them. I’ll leave you with this passage:
“Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” — Matthew 25:19-21 ESV
As always, thanks for reading. If you’re enjoying this Financial Healing Journey, please recommend it to a friend. You can gift them premium a subscription here. I’ll see you next week.
God bless your Prosperous Soul,
Stephen K. De Silva